Star Facts
- Amy Winehouse's style has been a muse for Karl Lagerfeld.
- In 2004, Amy won the Ivor Novello songwriting Award for Best Contemporary Song, alongside Salaam Remi for Stronger Than Me
- Back to Black was the best-selling album in the UK in 2007, selling 1.85 million copies.
- Amy charged Roman Abramovich £1m to perform a gig at a Moscow Art Gallery.
- Amy set new records at The Grammy’s by having the most wins by a female artist in a single night
Biography:
Amy Winehouse came to our attention when her first album Frank – a mix of jazz-influenced songs – was released in 2003. The album eventually went platinum and secured Amy an Ivor Novello award for song writing alongside Salaam Remi for Stronger Than Me.
Amy gained mega-stardom when her second album Back To Black was released in October 2007. The '60s-girl-band-inspired sound, which was produced by Mark Ronson, featured the tracks You Know I'm No Good and Rehab. The album became an international smash hit, getting to number two on the US Billboard Chart after Amy won five Grammy awards. Back To Black was also the best-selling album in the UK in 2007, selling 1.85 million copies.
Her private life was more troubled, however, and in 2005 she admitted to struggling with depression and a tendency to self-harm. By 2006 things seemed to be going better for Amy, but then the death of her beloved grandmother effected her deeply and, according to her parents, set her off into addictions and contributed to her dramatic weight loss.
On 18 May 2007, Amy married her on-off boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil. Their marriage was tempestuous, and in July 2008 Blake was imprisoned for perverting the course of justice and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
The couple divorced on 25 February 2009, and for a while things seemed to go well for Amy. She was in St Lucia working on her follow-up album and was also seeking treatment for her addictions. In 2011 Amy returned to London and started dating film director Reg Traviss.
Amy started her European tour in Belgrade on 18 June 2011, but her performance was erratic and confused. She was booed off stage and the rest of the tour was cancelled.
In a tragic turn of events, at 3:54pm on 23 July 2011, Amy was pronounced dead at her home in Camden, north London. The cause of her death is currently unknown.